Page 34 of Foolish Bride
His smile was intoxicating, and she wasn’t immune. “I shall enjoy the challenge. You are charming and beautiful.”
She couldn’t help the blush that crept up her neck and to her cheeks. Her pale skin made it impossible to hide. Suddenly the low-cut peach gown revealed too much, and she wished for her wrap. “You are too kind.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she spied a flash of white against crisp black. Instinctively, she knew that Michael was in the theatre. His family had a box several over from the Marlton box, and even without turning her head, she could tell that he was there watching her.
The idea of using Middleton was no longer a theory, and it made her skin crawl. It was one thing to speak in conjecture about accepting a man’s affection while hoping another will notice. It was quite another to actually do so. She liked Middleton. That was the problem.
He sat next to her. “Is something wrong? Did I say something that offended you?”
She forced a smile. “Of course not, your grace. It is not you.”
He looked around and almost immediately spotted Kerburghe in his family’s box. “I see,” he said more sternly than she expected.
“I apologize, your grace.” She was a terrible person, and Middleton was too good for her. There had to be a better way to find happiness.
He sighed and stood. “None needed. I shall return to my own box. I hope you enjoy the play, Lady Elinor.”
“Thank you, your grace.” She met his gaze.
Michael gave her a half-smile that might have held some apology in it. The lights dimmed, making it hard to be sure the expression had been real and not her imagination. What did Michael have to be sorry about?
Dory and Sophia took their places on either side of her and Daniel sat behind. The theatre darkened and the curtain opened.
Chapter 8
Elinor let the play consume her, escaping all the men in her life.
Several houses of Mediterranean design surrounded a courtyard on the stage. A large fountain and statues dotted the courtyard. Flowers filled every available space in rapturous colors. And most impressively, every surface was draped in white gauze.
It took Elinor’s breath away.
The entire audience gave a collective gasp.
Loud and raucous performers took the stage. It was a celebration. There was to be a wedding. The bride and groom were both splendidly attired in all white, their dark hair glistening in the stage lights. The families laughed and sang, showing support for the marriage.
Elinor brushed away a tear as the lovers kissed under a shimmering canopy. A great “hooray” went up from the crowd on the stage.
The orchestra played light strings, and a single flute trilled throughout the wedding.
As a sinister figure took the stage, the music changed to an oboe and clarinet, and the piano played in a flat key, darkening the mood. The man was older and the baron of the nearby lands. His anger at being thwarted by the girl was evident. He lamented over how her entire family had disrespected him and that they would pay. He sneered at the groom, who only smiled in victory.
Once he left the stage, the wedding party continued, and Elinor let out the breath she’d held.
In the next scene, the baron paid a wizard handsomely to kill the groom before the wedding night.
Elinor leaned forward, her knuckles white against the balustrade. It was not at all ladylike to show so much emotion, but she couldn’t help it.
The lights came halfway up on the stage, revealing the bedroom of a small home.
The audience gasped at the audacity of the playwright to show a bed on stage.
There would be a scandal. Elinor had to sit on her hands to keep from clapping.
The wizard appeared in the doorway, and seeing the beauty of the lovers, couldn’t kill the groom. Instead, he transformed the young man into a horse.
Trapped in the small house, the horse went mad and chased the wizard away. The bride collapsed in tears on the floor, and seeing her distress, the horse calmed and put his large head on her shoulder.
Married but still a maiden, she insisted on remaining with her husband regardless of his form. Together, they rode all over the country in hopes of finding the wizard who cursed them and forcing him to reverse the deed.
